


I am Here for You

by OnstageSport



Category: The Book of Mormon - Ambiguous Fandom, The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-12-14 08:22:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11779164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnstageSport/pseuds/OnstageSport
Summary: Kevin has a triggering experience and his mission companion/best friend is there to help him through it.





	I am Here for You

Kevin had slowly begun acclimating to the new order of things in Uganda. It was a lot to take in after the curve ball that had been his first week in the country. On top of the heat and general weather of the country, he was also adjusting to not being the prize of the group, to learning the similar-but-different rules of the new religion, to all the coffee he was drinking that affected his sleep schedule.

He felt like he was finally getting used to everything when God (if He existed, that was), the karmic forces of the universe, whatever decided that life was going too well for him.

“Elder Price!” Elder McKinley, still the acting district leader, had beamed at him from the chalkboard where they notated their successful baptisms. “You will _not_ believe the progress we’ve made this morning!”

Kevin politely nodded at him though he would believe just about anything at this point. He had reached that point where his life was weird enough that anything might as well happen.

“What happened this morning?” he asked as he made his way over to the kitchen for his third cup of coffee that day. They had acquired an inexpensive coffee maker from the market and they definitely got what they paid for.

“You really shouldn’t drink so much,” Elder McKinley chided. “It’s not good for your health.”

“I’m just trying to keep up with Arnold’s energy,” Kevin responded. He picked up his mug and stared at the murky water. He swished it around, trying to get a more even coloration. “So, what happened this morning?”

“We got a new Arnold…ite? Arnoldian?” Elder McKinley’s excitement faded to confusion about the proper name of their followers.

Kevin just nodded. This was not an unusual occurrence. The more stories Arnold adapted to include pop culture references and the struggles of the villagers, the more people became interested in learning about their beliefs. They got a new Arnoldite/Arnoldian practically every single day

“Okay,” he said slowly, raising his eyebrows. He waited for Elder McKinley to continue because that _couldn’t_ be all.

Elder McKinley seemed to have been waiting for Kevin to ask who it was or else to engage in some form of guessing game, but the clock must have run out on Kevin’s participation because McKinley continued anyway.

“The General!” he burst with excitement.

Kevin lost feeling in his fingers and the mug slipped out of his hand, crashing to the floor. He could feel his stomach threatening to join the splinters of glass. His blood ran so cold that for a second, he forgot that he was in Uganda.

“Elder Price?” McKinley’s voice sounded fuzzy and distant, like it was coming through their crappy radio. Or like they were underwater. Or like the radio was underwater. “Elder Price, are you okay?”

Kevin nodded vaguely and mumbled that he would be fine.

“I just…I have to…to go,” he murmured vaguely, walking over the broken ceramic, crushing it under his foot.

He made his way down the hall to the bathroom without regarding anything that Elder McKinley called after him. He locked the door as best as he could with the shoddy lock—was there _anything_ in this stupid country that worked the way it was meant to?

He stared into the mirror above the sink and tried to regain any sense of composure. He was fine, he was fine, he was fine.

He gripped the edges of the sink and stared deep into his own eyes, searching for any hint of the boy he had once been. The perfect, sunny boy he had once been. There was no trace that that boy ever even existed. Maybe he had been made up. Everything seemed to be nowadays.

There was a hard, loud pounding at the door that brought him to the floor, cowering under the sink as though that were going to provide any sort of protection from the door’s assailant. He scrunched his eyes closed, hid his face in his knees, and tried to control his breathing, like a horrible version of Hide-and-Seek.

“Hey, buddy?”

The voice was from inside the bathroom, too close. Too, too close. Kevin cautiously opened one eye and looked at his mission companion. Arnold was indeed too close, practically on top of him as was Arnold’s style. He sat cross-legged across from Kevin, staring very intently at him. Trying to read his mind? Who knew.

Arnold reached out, looking like he was about to hug Kevin, and Kevin scrambled away.

“Don’t,” he muttered, having found his voice again. “Don’t touch me right now.”

Arnold held up his hands in defense, letting his best friend know where his hands were so he didn’t need to worry.

“Okay, I’m not gonna,” he promised with a nod. “But I’m right here, okay? You’re all right.”

Kevin shook his head fiercely. He was _not_ all right. He was not all right at all. He was all _wrong_. _Everything_ was all wrong.

“Go away,” Kevin whispered, burying his face back in his knees. “Please, Arnold, just…just go away.”

“I can’t do that, buddy,” Arnold said. “You’re my mission companion. I’m not allowed to leave.” He paused for a second before adding, “And, duh, you’re my best friend. I wanna make sure you’re okay.”

Kevin gave him a small and mostly ingenuous smile.

“Thanks, Arnold,” he nodded. “I will be.”


End file.
